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Volatility is the new default.
Uncertainty rivals pandemic-era chaos.
Go-to-market leaders are stuck between long-term planning cycles and short-term fire drills.
That’s a lot of bad news… but Kathleen Booth, SVP of Marketing & Growth at Pavilion, says it doesn’t have to be that way.
As a leader at Pavilion, one of the most trusted spaces for GTM professionals, Kathleen gets a front-row seat to the challenges facing GTM leaders every day – and what the high-performing organizations are doing to survive (and thrive) in an up-and-down market.
In her interview on Move the Needle, Kathleen breaks down how the best GTM teams are adapting to change, what data matters most, and why some organizational structures are holding teams back from real growth.
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Change is the only constant – and it’s costing GTM teams
Kathleen shared a sobering fact from the US Uncertainty Index: we’re now experiencing the same level of national uncertainty as we did at the peak of COVID.
Economic shifts, geopolitical instability, legal changes, and AI advances are creating a constant undercurrent of disruption.
Yet, most revenue organizations aren’t structured to respond. As Kathleen shared:
- 66% of heads of sales say they struggle to adapt strategy to change.
- 65% struggle to shift budgets and resources.
- Only 13% of CRO time is spent on strategic planning.
“We know things are changing… and yet we are largely failing to keep up with it. Only 13% of a CRO’s week is spent on long-range planning. The rest is firefighting. It’s a recipe for real disaster.”
Agility as the new growth strategy
The path forward? Kathleen says it’s all about agility.
With her own experience plus conversations from Pavilion’s huge network of GTM leaders, she’s seen this in action.
“A lot of go-to-market leaders tend to think of agility as a survival strategy… but it’s really not. Change is a new constant. Agility is the growth strategy.”
Here’s the playbook for how high-performing companies are planning differently, using data to make smarter decisions, and rethinking bogged-down org structures.
1. Ditch the annual plan: Make agility the default
When conditions change monthly (or weekly), rigid annual planning is a liability. Most GTM teams aren’t equipped to make frequent shifts — not because they don’t want to, but because they’re structured to plan once, then execute blindly.
“According to recent research by Gartner… two thirds of sales organizations revise their strategy more than two times a year. But 66% of heads of sales say they struggle to adapt their strategies in response to those changes. And 65% of them struggle to shift budget and resources.”
Kathleen advocates for dynamic planning as the new default. That means GTM leaders need to:
- Plan for volatility, not stability.
Accept that change is constant; your planning process needs to expect frequent pivots, not resist them. - Allocate more time to strategic thinking.
Move from firefighting to proactive planning by intentionally carving out time to review strategy (right now only 13% of a CRO’s week is spent here). - Enable faster decision-making.
Reduce approval layers, shift ownership closer to execution, and simplify internal processes so pivots don’t get stalled. - Use data to trigger changes.
Build in review cadences around leading indicators — pipeline velocity, sales cycle changes, objections — and be ready to shift plans when they move.
2. Simplify the sales org: Full-cycle selling for faster pivots
Structural complexity slows response time. One of the most impactful shifts Pavilion sees among top-performing orgs is the move back to full-cycle selling. This means having one sales rep who owns prospecting, closing, and growing accounts. The results are outstanding.
“Organizations that are practicing this kind of radical role simplification… are actually four and a half times likelier to hit their growth targets.”
This simplification means fewer handoffs, faster decision-making, and less red tape when markets shift. For teams struggling to roll out change quickly, role clarity and ownership are key levers.
3. Use real-time data as a change signal, not just a scorecard
Agile execution is only possible when leaders spot signals early. Kathleen emphasizes using data not just to report, but to detect. She suggests tracking:
- Pipeline velocity
- Conversion rates (especially by ICP)
- Sales cycle length
- Pricing objections (via call recordings)
- Intent and engagement metrics
“If you have a good data collection and analysis system, it can provide some early signals that change is coming… and help justify pivots we’re feeling.”
Kathleen also emphasizes how GTM leaders need to learn to speak the language of the CFO. Agility won’t land if your board or CFO sees it as chaos.
Kathleen argues that go-to-market leaders need to be fluent in financial storytelling:
“It’s not enough to just have the data and understand the metrics. The piece that really separates great leaders from just good ones… is your ability to tell a story with the data.”
Tie your shifts to outcomes: CAC, LTV, retention, ROI. Connect qualitative signals (like changing objections) to pipeline health. Defend brand investments with data on buyer behavior and search visibility.
If you can make agility look like efficiency – not risk – you’ll win internal trust faster.
4. Rebuild your culture for speed: Transparency, buy-in, and change-readiness
Tools and strategy matter – but culture makes or breaks agility. Taking an honest and critical look at the transparency at your organization includes:
- Evaluating the layers of decision-making and approvals
- Determining who on the team is change-averse vs adaptable
- Providing data transparency and the “why” behind decisions
“The more you can get your data dialed in and make it transparent, share it with the team, the more you’re going to be able to develop buy-in.”
Invest now, or get left behind
Kathleen’s message was clear: Don’t wait. Don’t pause. Pivot.
“Every time there’s massive change, there’s massive opportunity. The companies that double down on growth in times like these will emerge the strongest.”
Learn from other go-to-market leaders
Which metrics are companies tracking when clicks vanish? Where do standard attribution models miss the mark? Which channels and activities actually drive pipeline when buyer journeys become less visible?
Join us for an interactive 60-minute online session as we unpack findings from our latest survey, “Beyond Attribution: What Go-To-Market Teams Track When Clicks Disappear.
